Flash-light cabilifeii



F. E. COOPER. FLASH LIGHT CABINET.

APPLICATION HLED JAN. 25- ISIS.

Patented July 1, 1919.

/ lwn wm h" INVENTOR. fiafi/fiffiaqncr BY ATTORNEYS.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH co. WASHING'ION, n. c.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK n. coornn, onoA K nnn, CALIFORNIA.

ing artificial light in studios, thereby en ablingphotographs to be taken at night, on cloudy days, or in a studio where it is not possible to securesufiicient daylight.

Another object of my invention is to arrange all parts on a suitable stand, thereby providing a device which can be readily IHOVGdflbOHt the studio. i

Still another objectof my invention is to provide acabinet which is entirely closed,

but, which is so arranged that when the explosion. takes'place the sides are capable of expansion thereby preventing the tearing of the material forming the closure due'to the sudden expansion of the air within the cabinet. 1

Stillanother object is to provide an improved holding pan for thepowder, which is easy to charge and accessible forrepairs, and lastly, a

1 Another object is to provide an automatic charging; device whereby the proper amount of flash-light powder-"is placed in the firlng pan by a simple pull ofthe cord on the part of the operator. p m With these and other objects in View my invention consists in thenovel construction,

combination and arrangementof partshere in illustrated andmore specifically pointed out in the appended claims. I

Referencebeinghad to the accompanying drawing forming apart of this specification, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of my improvedcabinet.

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the Fig. 3*is' an enlarged view partly in e1evation and partly in section ofthe door on the back of the cabinet, showing the arrangement of the firing apparatus and auto Specification of Letters Patent.

Fig. 4.- is a view in transverse section through theautoniatic charger.

Fig. 51is a view in rear elevation of a portion of the automaticcharger and the slide containing the firing .pan.

Referring to corresponding parts in the severalyiews by the same numerals of reference, 1 denotes the hood in whichthe charge isfired, and 2 the stand on which the same Patented July 1, 1919. Applicationfiled January25,1916; Seria1N0t7 L13 6.

is mounted. The latter consists of the stand; ard 8niounted on vertical legs/l, which are preferably provided with casters 5, sothat the same may be ea'silyrojll ed from one po sition to another. i

Slidably mounted in the post 3 is a tubular rod 6, havingat itsupper end the lateral branches 7, which are bent upwardly as at 8 to form" a yoke in which thehood 1 is pivotally mounted. This hood comprises light framework of strips 9, over which is stretched) a cover of anysuitablefabric material 10. The face llis of fabric, such astracing cloth, through which the light is transmitted,but the sides, top and back are all "non transparent material, preferably light colored onthe inside and dark on the outside so a's to reflect as much light as possible toward the front. Between the front and the rear frame members are pro vided cross connecting members 12, in which the'yoke arms 8 are pivotally mounted, and

in the top is provided a rectangular opei1- ing 14, across which is stretched afine mesh screenlo, and the opening above thisscreen is covered with aflpuffed cloth 16, which is attached around the sides of the hole so that when acharge is fired this piece of material may give outwardly andthus take care of the expansion within the hood. The standard 3 is provided with a slot 17 adjacent the upper portion thereof, and the tubular member 6 has attachedfthereto a block 18,which projects through this slot. Onthis block is mounted a bracket 19, wherein is pivotally mounted the lever 20,

havingthe cam shaped head 21, adapted to bear against the sides of standard 3. On the upper end ofthe standard 3is provided one or more arms 22,to which are fastened the springs 23, the opposite ends of which are attached" to the pivot pin of lever 20. These springs havesuflicient tension that they almost counterbalance the weight of the hood and attached parts, thereby making it very easyto raise or lower. To bracket 19 is also attached the are shaped member 24, which extends through an opening in the handle 20, and a spring 25 is interposed between the handle and the bracket, which normally holds the handle extended and causes the cam shaped head to tighten against its hearing, surfaces.

T In the rear of the cabinet is a hinged door 30 provided with an opening 31, through which extends a base plate 32, held in positionby means of the bracket 33. Slidably mounted on this plate is a block 34, in which is attached the firing pan 35, this pan consists of a shallow concaved member of refractory material, attached to 34 by means of a screw 36 passing through an opening in the center thereof. This screw is provided with a nut which moves in a slot 37 in the base 32, and'which extends throughout only apart of the length at the base, thereby limiting the movement of 34 in one direction, its movement in the other direction being limited by a strip-38 0n the upper surface thereof. This strip contacts with the outer surface of ,door- 30, serving not only as a stop, but also to close the crack above the sliding plate.

On the back of the door are two binding posts 39, to which are attached conductors 40 extending from the spark coil 41. These binding posts are connected by conductors 42, one to a screw 43, and the other to a stud'44. Screw 43 has also attached a spring 45, having an upwardly bent end, which projects across the path of screw 36 whereby when the latter is-pushed to its forward position, the screw is brought into contact with this spring member. The stud 44 is attached in the side of the base 32 and is provided with a lateral extending arm 46, the outer end of which is positioned approximately over the center of bolt36, when the latter is in its inner position. The spark coil 41 is mounted upon'a battery case 47, which contains several dry cells 48, or other source of electrical current. These cells are connected with the primary of the spark coil, the secondary of which is attached by conductor 49 to the binding posts 39.

Interposed between the batteries andthe primary of the spark coil-is a circuit closing arrangement-50 connected through conductors 49 to the spark coil and battery. This circuit closer consisting of two spring clips 51 adapted to be pressed together by means of pneumatic bulb 52, which in turn is operated by a bulb 53 of thetype used for operatingcamera shutters. I prefer to arrange this bulb with two branches, one leading to the pneumatic device52, and the otherleading to the camera shutter operating mechanism, so that when the-bulb 5.3 is pressed the shutter of, the camera i opened and the charge. simultaneously fired.

Onthe rear door 0 is provided a PQ der contai er 4 having-the fu ne shaped. hottom 55, below which is stationed an automatic measuring device 56. This device consists of the cylindrical shaped portion 57, in which is pivotally mounted a shaft 58, this shaft directly under the portion 55 is provided with a member having radial arms 59 forming preferably four compartments of the proper size to measure one charge of the flash-light.

On the outer end of shaft 58 is revolubly mounted a circular disk 60, having a handle 62 and having pivotally mounted on the inner face a pawl 63 adapted to contact with a ratchet wheel 61 keyed to shaft 38 and having teeth corresponding in number to that of arms 59. Extending from arm 62 is a spring 64 adapted to retract the same after it has been pulled downwardly. Stop pins 65 and 66 being provided in the disk 60 and the stationary casing 57, respectively, to limit the downward movement of this arm.

The operation is as follows To charge; the firing pan 34 is pulled out as far as it will come, which is automatically centered under the funnel shaped portion of container 54. The cord attached to the handle 62 is then pulled down, which through the pawl and ratchet wheel rotates shaft 58, one quarter of a turn, allowing the powder contained between two of the arms to drop through the funnel shaped portion onto the firing pan. The strip 34 is then pushed inwardly until stopped by strip 38, contacting with the door which centers the screw under the arm 46, and at the same time causes the screw nut to make contact with the spring 45, thereby closing the secondary circuit for the spark coil except for the gap between head of screw 36 and the point of arm 46. Then by pressing bulb 53 the circuit closer 51 is operated, at the same time the shutter is opened. The closing of this circuit, allows current to flow through the primary of the spark coil causing a spark which jumps between 36 and 46 through the powder igniting same. The smoke and dust from the firing of this charge is held within the hood 1 and the expansion which takes place at the moment of ignition is taken care of partly by the means ofthe puffed cloth and partly by the sides of the hood.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention it will-be understood that minor changes may be made in detail and construction without departing from the scope of the claims.

I claim as new and wish'to cover by Letters Patent 1. A flash light cabinet including a hood provided with an opening in an upper wall thereof, a reticulated fire screen arranged across the opening, and a loose and unsup ported pouched cover arranged on the exterior of the hood and secured about the edges of the opening in the latter to permit expansion of gases Within the hood.

2. A flash light cabinet comprising a stand including a tubular member having a longitudinal slot therein, a rod slidable Within said tubular member and carrying a hood upon the upper end thereof, a projection extending from said rod and extending through the slot in said tubular member, a tension spring having one end connected to said projection and the other end connected to an upper portion of said tubularmember for counterbalancing the Wei ht of said hood, and a cam carried by said projection and adapted to engage With said tubular memher for clamping said rod in adjusted position Within said tubular member.

3. A flash light cabinet including a hood, a manually movable flash light receiver slidably mounted to have a limited movement in and out of said hood through an opening in a Wall thereof, an immovable flash light charging device mounted directl on the exterior face of said Wall and a ove said receiver and manually operable to charge the latter With a flash material When the receiver is outside of the hood, and means for igniting said flash material When said receiver is inside of the hood.

4. A flash-light cabinet comprising a hood, a door on the back of said hood having an opening therethrough, a base extending through said opening, a block slidably.

mounted on said base, a firing pan mounted in one end of sald block, means limiting the movement of said block to positively position said pan on the inside or outside of said door, a charging device mounted on said door above the position of said pan on the outside of said door, a conducting member extending through the bottom of said pan, a spring strip adapted to contact with said conducting member when positioned within said hood, an. arm extending over said pan when in the latter position, said arm and said conducting member forming electrodes of a spark gap.

5. A flash-light cabinet comprisingahood, a door on the back of said hood having an opening .therethrough, a base extending through said openmg, a block slidably mounted on said base, a firing pan mounted in one end of said block, means limiting the movement of said block to positively position said pan on the inside or outside of said door, a charging device adapted to drop a measured quantity of powder into said firing pan, mountedon said door above the position of said pan on the outside of said door, a conducting member extending through the bottom of said pan, a spring strip adapted to contact with said conducting member When positioned Within said hood, an arm extending over'said pan When in the latter position, said arm and said conducting member forming electrodes of a spark gap.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRANK E. ooornn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.. 

